Inside

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has vowed to improve the monitoring and regulation of future port expansions to ensure UNESCO does not follow through with its threat to place the Great Barrier Reef on its world heritage danger list•6

International lending is contracting at its fastest pace since the financial crisis in 2008 as Europe’s banks rush to meet tougher rules •13

Financial institutions and experts are betting virtual currencies such as those in video games will become real-world tender within three to five years•27

One of the world’s leading real estate investors, Morgan Stanley, which controls $700 million of distressed loans in south-east Queensland, believes the Gold Coast will start to recover•45

Markets have clearly moved on from when the technical assumptions were made in the budget, but the worsening economic situation will not necessarily scupper Treasury’s calculations, says Stephen Koukoulas•59